Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Upon being attacked, the core emitted a sharp cry, resembling a painful wail.

Just as Hu Tao was about to launch a second attack, the core had already teleported to the center of the platform. Its outer shell transformed into thick rock pillars, distributed throughout the platform, while the core landed above the rock pillars, absorbing the rock elemental power surging from the earth's veins.

Jiang Bai sensed the tremor of the rock element and immediately realized that the monster was about to unleash a powerful attack.

Sure enough, following the surge of rock element from the rock pillar, terrifying shockwaves swept in from all directions.

If you were standing on the ground and hit by this shockwave, you would be half-dead if you weren't dead!

Jiang Bai ran out of the attack range, with rock pillars constantly forming beneath his feet. But the moment his foot left, the rock pillars were shattered by the shockwave and dissipated into particles.

"Master, retreat first!"

This attack is too powerful; they simply can't withstand it!

"Let's split up!"

Hu Tao moved through the spirit world at such a speed that it seemed as if her body did not exist in this world.

She couldn't stay in the spirit world for long and could only travel through it frequently to avoid the shockwaves, but this obviously took a toll on her, and her face quickly turned pale.

Having finally escaped the attack range, both of them were panting heavily, like fish out of water.

Fortunately, the Rock Hypostasis stayed within its own territory and did not follow them out to continue attacking; otherwise, they would have had to keep running.

"This Rock Hypostasis is too powerful. We simply can't withstand this wide-range attack..." Jiang Bai gasped for breath. It was really difficult to control the rock element and condense it into a stone pillar within the turbulent rock element range.

In the face of life that is itself born of elements, the elements' feedback to it is obviously not of high priority.

The two hid behind a rock spear, collapsing to the ground as if they had survived a close call.

It can move, it can fly, and it has a super wide-range, high-powered attack. It's simply impossible to fight against it!

"If only I could get in touch with Mr. Zhongli..."

If we could contact Zhongli and ask him what elemental resonance is, he might be able to put up a fight once he masters it.

“I miss him so much now…” Hu Tao slumped to the ground like a salted fish that had lost all its strength, her face full of exhaustion.

"If I had known he would come along, the old man could have just stood there and watched us fight once he activated his Rock Shield..."

"Rock Shield?" Jiang Bai heard something he had never seen before.

"The old man's rock shield is similar to the crystal shield, only with stronger defense and a longer duration. Like the attack just now, the crystal shield would shatter after one hit, but the old man's shield could withstand the entire attack..."

When Hu Tao was little, she went out with Zhong Li. At that time, she was still young and couldn't handle some powerful monsters, but as long as Zhong Li's shield was activated, she was not afraid of anything.

I'll never forget that feeling of security, being firmly protected by the shield.

"So powerful!" Jiang Bai had never witnessed Zhong Li's skills before, nor did he know that Zhong Li's specialty was actually shields!

"Yes, otherwise how could he be our most powerful guest elder in the Hall of Rebirth?"

This "powerful" refers not only to his academic prowess but also to Zhongli's combat abilities.

Chapter 39 Am I dreaming?

"Hey, Master, who exactly is Mr. Zhongli...?" Recalling the fact that Zhongli gave him the Divine Eye, Jiang Bai subtly tried to find out Zhongli's identity.

"Why would someone so capable be holed up in our tiny shrine for the dead?"

"What do you mean by a mini shrine for the dead?!" Hu Tao, who had been feeling weak, suddenly perked up upon hearing this.

She grabbed Jiang Bai by the collar, her voice fierce: "Tell me what you mean by 'Little Hall of Rebirth'?!"

Jiang Bai quickly waved his hand, "I misspoke, I misspoke!"

He just wanted to express why Mr. Zhongli, such a capable person, didn't show off his abilities.

"Hmph!" Hu Tao snorted coldly. If she weren't exhausted right now, she would have taught Jiang Bai a lesson on the spot!

"He is staying in our Rebirth Hall, of course it is our Rebirth Hall that deserves him to stay here!"

They were provided with the best food and drink, lived in the best courtyard, kept the most precious flowers and plants, and played with the most beautiful thrushes. They didn't carry any money when they went out, and all their expenses were paid by the Rebirth Hall!

You only contact him when you need something; otherwise, you just drink tea, listen to opera, and take walks. Where else in Liyue can you find this kind of treatment?

Even working for the Seven Stars wouldn't be as comfortable as working for the Hall of Rebirth!

She dared to say that even if the Rock King descended to earth, this would be the only treatment he would receive!

At most, we'll assign Prince Yan a servant; Jiang Bai, for example, would be quite good...

"Okay, okay..." Seeing Hu Tao's furious expression, Jiang Bai didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"Let's take a break and think about how to deal with it. We've come all this way, we can't go back empty-handed."

The two thought and thought, until the sun gradually rose higher and the sunlight shone over the stones and onto their heads.

Perhaps due to excessive physical exertion, Hu Tao had already fallen asleep, lying curled up on her side on the beach like a kitten.

Jiang Bai looked at her for a while and really wanted to tickle her nose with a blade of grass, but he restrained himself from doing so in order to avoid being hit.

Jiang Bai used rock elements to create a coffin to cover Hu Tao, and after confirming that she would not be submerged by the waves, he slowly walked away.

He was going to study the rock shield, but it was best not to disturb her.

Since Geo crystals can become shields, it means that Geo itself has protective properties.

If we skip the crystallization step and directly condense the Geo element into a shield, it should be able to withstand the Geo Hypostasis's attack, right?

Thinking it over, he found a large rock, sat cross-legged, and let his consciousness sink into the ground along with the rock element.

Do rocks breathe?

some.

The compression of soil, the accumulation of weight, the infiltration of water, and the changes in mass—these tensions and contractions constitute the "breathing" of rocks.

Do rocks have a will?

some.

Those towering rocks atop the mountains have withstood thousands of years of wind and rain without wavering; those deep-buried boulders have been forged and tempered, forming the foundation of the earth; and the many events they have witnessed have become the shared memory of the rocks.

The will of rock is as solid as a fortress, unbreakable.

A golden shield slowly formed around Jiang Bai, carrying an ancient and unbreakable will.

Jiang Bai opened his eyes, looked at the shield enveloping him, and a smile stretched from the corner of his mouth to the back of his ears.

He stretched his joints, jumped onto the platform of the Rock of the Impermanence, rubbing his hands together, looking extremely arrogant.

"I'll show you my true strength!"

The art of persuasion through reason appeared in his hands, and the huge spiked club carried on his shoulder was very intimidating.

Rock missiles hurtled toward Jiang Bai, who didn't even flinch, charging straight toward the core in mid-air through the hail of bullets.

The shield emitted continuous light, reducing all attacks, and Jiang Bai inside remained unharmed.

Seeing that the distance was about right, Jiang Bai slightly bent his knees and launched his body into the air like a cannonball, slamming his spiked club heavily onto the exposed core.

Under immense force, even the smooth, mirror-like core, radiating golden light, developed tiny cracks.

Jiang Bai wanted to strike again, but the severely damaged Rock of No Form had already gathered its core, set up a rock array, and was preparing to unleash the earthquake shock that had previously forced the two back.

Jiang Bai was no longer afraid. He quickly condensed a new protective shield, rushed to the rock pillar at the core, and withstood the impact of the earthquake, smashing the rock pillar to pieces with a few loud bangs.

Jiang Bai chuckled as he watched the core fall to the ground and freeze briefly.

The gleaming spiked club came crashing down on his head.

The Rock of the Impermanence let out a mournful cry. Before it could even absorb the ley lines to repair itself, its core was smashed into pieces, and it returned to the elemental cycle.

When Hu Tao woke up from her nap and groggily sat up on the sand, she saw Jiang Bai already waiting for her, holding the core fragment of the Rock of No Form, the Prison Yellow Jade.

The black sand had already been collected, waiting for Hu Tao to put it back in the Qiankun Mustard Seed.

As for the stone coffin that originally covered her, it was removed long ago after Jiang Bai finished fighting the Rock of No Form.

"What's going on?" Hu Tao stared wide-eyed at the yellow jade from the prison cell that Jiang Bai presented as if it were a treasure, wondering if she was still dreaming.

"Master, if you doubt you're dreaming, I can pinch your cheek for you and see if it hurts. If it hurts, then you're not dreaming," Jiang Bai said with a sly grin.

Hu Tao slapped him on the forehead, then pinched his cheek with two fingers.

"Look at yourself now, does it hurt? Are you dreaming?" Hu Tao raised her chin, a gesture of contempt for Jiang Bai.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Jiang Bai quickly begged for mercy.

With his face freed from its restraints, Jiang Bai grinned and showed his teeth.

Even though he wasn't in pain, he still had to pretend, otherwise what if Hu Tao saw that he wasn't in pain and wanted to pinch him again?

Hu Tao brushed away non-existent dust from her palm, took the prison jade from Jiang Bai's hand, and then walked to the center of the platform, putting the outer shell into her ring.

After doing all this, she looked at Jiang Bai curiously and asked:

How did you do that?

Jiang Bai chuckled, and a golden shield enveloped her.

"I've figured out how to make a shield! It might not be as strong as Mr. Zhongli's, but it shouldn't be bad either!"

When the Rock Hypostasis unleashed its earthquake, he reinforced the shield several times as a precaution, so he doesn't know the maximum damage the shield can absorb. He can test it slowly when he gets back and has more time.

"Wow! Not bad!" Hu Tao looked left and right, her eyes sparkling.

Although it's not quite the same as Mr. Zhongli's shield, the sense of protection it provides is genuine.

"Excellent, excellent!" Hu Tao was extremely satisfied and praised him several times in a row.

That way, next time she encounters a dangerous battle like this, Jiang Bai can just cast a shield on her!

"I'll take you to Wanmintang for a big meal when we get back!"

"Great!"

"By the way, where are the crabs we caught?"

"Uh, I think I forgot it on the mountain..."

"Go back and get it right away!"

Chapter 40 Quietly Listening to Your Bragging

After returning to Liyue Harbor by boat, the two headed straight for the Hall of Ten Thousand People, carrying a basket of crabs.

Although they almost forgot about them, fortunately, these crabs were resilient enough to still be jumping around.

Pour half a basket of crabs to Xiangling, and leave the rest for the maids to have as an extra meal that evening!

In the kitchen of Wanmintang, looking at a basin of lively crabs, Xiangling picked one up and asked curiously, "Where did you get so many crabs?"

"They were caught at Guyun Pavilion; there are many on the beach over there."

Guoba, watching the crabs crawling around in the basin, playfully stuck his claw in to try and catch one. However, instead of catching a crab, he got his claw pinched by one.

Ouch...

?

Tears welled in his eyes, and he pitifully showed Xiangling his trapped paws.

Xiangling, who was discussing with Hu Tao about going to Guyun Pavilion to catch crabs next time, jumped up when she saw this scene. She laughed and felt sorry for the crab, so she pried open the crab claws and let the claws go free.

Seeing that Hu Tao was watching the commotion, Jiang Bai quietly grabbed a crab and clipped it to Hu Tao's hair. Then he turned to look at the sky, pretending that he hadn't done anything.

Hu Tao felt something strange on her head. Looking down, she saw a crab clamping onto her hair.

"My hair!"

Hu Tao immediately identified the suspect, "Jiang Bai, is that you!"

Jiang Bai turned around, feigning ignorance, and asked, "What? What's wrong?"

"Did you put the crab in my hair?!" Walnut, clutching the crab, was furious.

"I was admiring the scenery and didn't notice; the crab probably climbed up there by itself..."

"You're talking nonsense! I'm standing up! How could a crab possibly crawl onto my hair!"

There are only a few of them in this room, who else could it be but him? Jiang Bai is trying to fool you!